13 Assam students shine in civil services exam

Guwahati: Altogether 13 students from Assam cleared the UPSC civil services examination, 2014, the results of which were declared on Saturday. This is the best tally for the state so far. Last year, there were nine successful candidates from the state.
Serving Meghalaya state civil service officer Mardondor Banjop Tongper, with a rank of 1204, is the lone successful candidate from the hill state.
The successful candidates are Barun Purkayastha (194th), Mayur Kumar (128th), Kapinjal Kishore Sarma (256th), Avijit Pegu (1134th), Dhrubasish K Deka (639th), Subhasish Sarma Thakur (365th), Amrit Pritom Chetia (797th), Bandana Deuri (989th), Migom Doley (1197th), Mamoni Doley (1188th), Seuj Kumar Saikia (1156th), Purna Borah (954th) and Neeharika Inti (1021th).
Kapinjal and Mamoni have also cleared the Assam State Public Service Commission, the results of which were declared last month, and are now being probed by en inquiry committee set up the state government following complaints of anomalies in the examination process.
Barun Purkayastha from the city said, “I was definitely expecting a position, but not the slot which I got in the examination,” said a jubilant Barun at his residence in the Adabari Tinali area of the city. A known debater in his college days, Barun graduated from the prestigious Cotton College, Guwahati, and devoted himself to prepare for the civil services since 2010.
“If I get the opportunity to serve in Assam, I will put my best efforts to maintain law and order here,” he said.
Though his parents are doctors by profession, Barun’s aim was to become an administrator. Barun’s father, Bhaskar Purkayastha, said, “We wanted him to go for higher studies since he was good in studies. But he wanted to crack the civil services and was not ready to listen to us,” said his father.
Subhasish Sarma Thakur, who is from Jorhat, feels that if one has the zeal, he or she can shine from any part of the country even in the most toughest examinations. “I did my preparations for the civil services examination by mostly staying in Guwahati only,” said Thakur.
Kapinjal said he did not find much difference in the examination patterns of the civil service examinations conducted by Assam Public Service Commission and UPSC, though he found competition very high in the UPSC examination.
“I feel proud to qualify in the examination where large number of students from across the country compete. I am feeling good since my hard work has paid off,” said Kapinjal.